Classes:  Puppy & Beginner

AKC Evaluator: CGC & S.T.A.R. Puppy

Ani is a Certified Training Partner of Karen Pryor Academy (KPA CTP), Fear Free Certified, and an AKC CGC Evaluator.  Ani was involved with animal rescue for over 20 years, and transitioned that passion into providing effective and convenient solutions for people to meet their dog’s needs.  Ani continues to pursue her ongoing education in dog behavior by attending courses and seminars and keeping up to date on science-based positive dog training.  When not helping training clients, Ani runs a home-based vacation boarding and enjoys time with her 4 dogs.

Classes:  Obedience & Therapy Dog

Dave brings over 30 years of dog training experience, including 18 years as a trainer with SCDTC. He has successfully titled his Labrador Retrievers in obedience, rally, and scent work, reflecting both his depth of knowledge and commitment to developing well-rounded canine partners.

Outside of training, Dave enjoys spending time on the golf course, hiking local trails, and fishing.

His current canine partners include:

Top Dog’s Red Bluff Rising NW2 RA PCDX

Arroyo Grande’s Hidden Cache NW1 RN CDX

Classes:  Scent Work

Erin was born and raised in San Jose, California, where her love for animals began at an early age. Her passion for dogs grew in 2013 with the arrival of Posie, a black Labrador Retriever who introduced her to the world of dog sports.

Since then, Erin and her family have added another black Lab, Pax, and have actively trained and competed in Canine Good Citizen, Obedience, Rally, Tricks, Scent Work also known as nose work. While she enjoys all dog sports, Scent Work has become her main focus. Erin now also teaches Scent Work, helping others discover the joy of the sport.

She has competed—primarily with Pax—in NACSW, SDS, and AKC, and has attended numerous workshops, seminars, and Scent Work camps, including in Colorado. Pax currently trials at the Elite level in NACSW and the Detective level in AKC, with multiple High in Trial and top placements across organizations. Erin also continues to train and trial Posie alongside her parents.

Passionate about building strong bonds between dogs and their handlers, Erin enjoys sharing her knowledge and love of dog sports with others.

Classes:  Scent Work

Laura Cribbins trains and competes in a wide range of AKC events, including Obedience, Rally, Tricks, and Scent Work. She works alongside her 13-year-old mixed-breed dog, Piko, who continues to thrive in both competition and therapy work.

Together, Laura and Piko have been involved in scent work for over six years and are currently competing at the Masters and Detective levels in AKC Scent Work. In addition, Piko serves as a therapy dog, visiting a variety of venues with Laura.

Laura is passionate about introducing new handlers and dogs to the sport of scent work. She encourages students to jump in, have fun, and build confidence as a team. She has a special interest in working with shy or nervous dogs, helping them develop confidence and focus through positive reinforcement and the natural joy of using their noses.

For Laura, scent work is a game that strengthens the bond between dog and handler—and she finds it deeply rewarding to watch teams of all experience levels succeed and grow.

Classes:  Scent Work

Madeline was born and raised in San Jose where she attended San Jose State University and graduated with a degree in biology.

Animals have always been her passion, especially owning and training Labrador Retrievers. Her love of Labradors began with obedience training in 4-H club, led to pursuing a career in the veterinary field, and continues with her current passion for canine scent work.

Madeline has been heavily involved with scent work for the past 10 years. With her Labrador, Posie, she has trialed with all the major nosework / scent work groups, including NACSW, USCSS, SDDA, SDS, as well as AKC. She has attended numerous workshops/seminars/classes, California Narcotics Canine Association joint conferences, and many weeklong nosework camps in Oregon and Colorado.

Madeline’s dog, Posie, is currently trialing at the summit level in NACSW, holds iron dog titles in Sniffing Dog Sports (SDS), is trialing at the detective level in AKC, and received many high-in-trial ribbons through AKC. She is currently sharing trialing and the training of her younger Labrador, Pax, with her daughter and husband. She finds sharing her love of the sport addicting and enjoys the rewards of helping others build a special relationship with their dog through nosework / scent work.

Classes: Obedience & Scent Work

I love and admire dogs, and helping them live their best life became one of my life's missions. To do so, I became a Dog Trainer and specialized in Separation Anxiety cases. Studying Canine Behavior and finding better ways to train and understand our dogs is an ongoing focus for me.

My dog training beliefs and methods are game-based, while using positive reinforcement. As a mom, I know how busy life can be (kids, work, family, etc.). I try to make dog training fun and simple in order to achieve a common goal between owner and dog, which is living together in harmony.

I love exploring and learning other dog sports and activities. I am currently doing Scent Work and Rat Sport: Urban Location with my dogs, Prada (15.5 years) and Picca (1.5 years), and Agility with Picca. I would love to join other dog sports in the near future.

Classes: Conformation & Obedience

Nive has been a dog trainer and handler for over 10 years, showing dogs in AKC Conformation and participating in other sports including Agility, Obedience, and Rally.

She had also been actively involved in basic obedience and puppy training for rescue work for the past few years.

While Nive primarily focuses on showing Australian Shepherds, she also enjoys working with and handling many different breeds. Passionate about making Conformation an enjoyable experience.

Nive emphasizes building a strong bond between handlers and their dogs, ensuring that training is both effective and fun.

Classes: Obedience, FIT Dog, Tricks & Therapy dog

AKC Evaluator: ATT, CGC, CGCA, CGCU, Fit Dog, and all Trick Dog levels

AKC Judge: Fetch

Patty has been passionate about dog training since childhood, when she hosted weekly obedience meetups for neighborhood dogs every Saturday. What began as a childhood pastime has evolved into a fulfilling career rooted in canine training and sports.

Today, Patty shares her life with two Irish Setters and a Miniature Australian Shepherd. She holds multiple credentials, including AKC Fit Dog Instructor, Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Evaluator, and AKC Fetch Judge. For the past three years, she has also been a dedicated member of a trick dog performance team, showcasing her dogs' talents and promoting positive training techniques.

In addition to her work in the dog world, Patty is the owner and operator of Beat CPR Training Center, where she teaches lifesaving CPR skills to both healthcare professionals and community members.

Classes: Rally

Susan Horovitz has been showing and training dogs for 10 years. Susan and her dogs train in conformation, obedience, rally, agility and tracking. Susan has put Grand Champion titles on her two Cocker Spaniels in AKC Conformation and CD titles on both dogs in AKC Obedience. Her older dog, Cleo, has her AKC Rally Master 2 title and 17 triple Q’s before becoming sight and hearing impaired. Her younger dog, Juniper, has her AKC Rally Excellent title and is just getting started on her goal to achieve her RACH, Rally Champion, title.

 In addition to teaching Rally classes at Santa Clara Dog Training Club, Susan is a club member who helps support the club in other events and trials. She is a member of the American Spaniel Club and two northern California Cocker Spaniel clubs.

If you can’t tell already, Susan is a competitor when it comes to training rally. Her goals include for students to have a working knowledge of AKC rally signs with proper foot work and stops, clean movement when running the course, and a happy connection with their dog in the ring. Susan’s overarching goal is to create a supportive group of class members who coach each other and love to compete (and have fun).

Classes: Tricks, Therapy Dog & Obedience

Suzanne has shared her life with rescue dogs throughout her adult years, but began formal AKC training over 20 years ago with her Australian Cattle Dog. A year later, she added an Australian Working Kelpie, who went on to become a certified therapy dog. Working with these intelligent, independent herding breeds sparked her passion for structured training—especially tracking, which remains her first love.

Her dogs have earned titles in Canine Good Citizen (CGC), Advanced Trick Dog, obedience, and tracking. She is currently training in scent work and occasional agility. Suzanne is also actively involved in a group tricks team.

She is passionate about helping people discover what motivates their dogs through positive training methods, and about building partnerships that are joyful, thoughtful, and mutually rewarding.

Classes: Beginner Obedience and Intermediate Scent Work

Leena is a positive-reinforcement dog trainer and graduate of Animal Behavior College. She completed her internship at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, assisting with puppy through intermediate dog training classes, and has also taught multiple levels of agility.

Leena began training dogs in 2007 with her Jack Russell Terrier, Masi, in Finland. Over the years, they enjoyed obedience, agility, trick dog training, and scent-based activities, with Masi earning multiple Trick Dog titles.

Today, Leena trains and competes with her Australian Shepherd mix, Topi. Together they participate in Dog Parkour, Urban Agility, Lost Item Recovery, Urban Locating, and nose work. Topi has earned titles in several of these sports, as well as AKC Canine Good Citizen and Trick Dog titles. Leena is also an instructor and evaluator with the International Dog Parkour Association (IDPKA).

Originally from Finland, Leena holds a master's degree in education and taught for 13 years at the Silicon Valley Finnish School. She brings her background in education and her passion for positive training to help dogs and their people build strong, rewarding partnerships.